Elaine Del Valle in 'Brownsville Bred...Growing Up Elaine'

Brownsville Bred...Growing Up Elaine

A One Woman Show
Written, Performed & Lived by:
Elaine Del Valle

WINNER March 2009 "ONE ACT" FESTIVAL
WINNER BEST ACTRESS
WINNER BEST SCRIPT
WINNER BEST SHOW
WINNER April 2009 Teatro LA TEA's "THE ONE" FESTIVAL

PLAYING EVERY MONDAY IN NOVEMBER AT

This autobiographical show takes the audience through an "emotional rollercoaster" that is uplifting, heartbreaking and powerful as they witness Del Valle recreate life in the tough projects of 1980's Brownsville, Brooklyn NY.

Amongst eight other characters, Del Valle narrates as herself from ages 11 to 17. Del Valle's loving father, another empathetic character, leaves the family of five as he falls from stature as a talented musician to a defeated heroine addict. Not unlike most impoverished families, Elaine's mother emerges as the loveable spirit that holds the family together and guides them to a hopeful future.



Crime, Drugs and Poverty mix with the Joys of Family, Hope, Salsa and the Birth of Rap, as Del Valle's innocence recounts a journey to womanhood, a neighborhoods crack & crime epidemic, Salsa rumbas, and her love of Run DMC, which often times help her verbalize a unique struggle and triumph that has audiences cheering and laughing through their tears while swaying to urban rhythms.

Click for more info on Brownsville Bred and tickets.

Gov. Paterson's Wheelchair Skit

From the Daily Politics Blog....

Gov. David Paterson, who is legally blind, used his response to last night's LCA show to hit back at an 1199/GNYHA TV ad released during the budget battle that featured a blind man in a wheelchair slamming the governor's proposed healthcare spending cuts.

Three thoughts:

1) While the audio is bad and hard to hear in parts, it's clear that the skit is a 5 minute whinefest by an unpopular politician.

2) It's one thing to skewer critics using humor. It's quite another to do so in a way that's demeaning to yourself and others.

3) In a state in which Wall Street billionaires pay the same rate in state taxes as the very poor, is it really funny to mock the disabled worried about cuts in healthcare funding?

On the plus side, Paterson did a funny impersonation of Sheldon Silvers--and the folks in the jaded Capitol reporters in the room laughed throughout the monologue.

The question though is, were they laughing with the governor, or at him?

Gov. Paterson's Skit


Healthcare Cuts Ad